Petitionary prayer, meditation, contemplation, the Our Father, and the Hail Mary, the Glory Be. The Rosary has it all. If we stay with it and practice praying the Rosary, the different elements of it come together and gradually we realize that this prayer has the power to dispose our hearts, and the eyes of our hearts can then begin to look at the Lord with more love and affection, and the truth of what he has done for us in each one of the mysteries of his life can really leap forth for us.

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata

God is a refiner's fire, and he says through the mouth of the prophet Zechariah, “I will refine them as silver is refined.” What does that mean? You and I can ask for God to plunge us into the fire, to purify us, to separate out the lead from the silver within us. And he will do it because God is good and he has these graces of purification for us. The process of purification is going to be different for each one of us, depending upon the different graces of purification God gives us.

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata

There’s one prayer in particular that’s the best prayer and it is the name of Jesus. When we call upon the name of Jesus with faith, we should expect to receive his grace. The name of Jesus will work in our hearts and will do in our hearts, in a certain way, everything that Jesus himself does in the Gospels.

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata

“O God, come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me.” This prayer was taught to John Cassian and his friend Germanus by one of the desert monks, Abba Isaac, who told them if they just pray this prayer over and over again, their hearts will be set on fire. This prayer is a prayer you can pray in all circumstances.

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata

In this episode, Fr. James Brent, O.P., gives an example of how javelin prayers can be helpful in the spiritual life as he recounts a story about someone he knew who was a high-powered lawyer in New York. She barely had any time for extended daily prayer but could see the people around her were looking very lost and empty. She saw in them a real desire for God and wanted to find a way to slake their thirst somehow. By praying these short, frequent, “javelin” prayers, she led a life of serious prayer in the midst of a very busy life in New York City. Her life and her heart became a point of entry for God to enter into this world.

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata

As we’ve discussed for a few episodes now, one of the principal pathways to metanoia is prayer. And one of the principal challenges to prayer is distraction. Aside from external distractions which many of us suffer from, we have interior distractions. Even the Desert Fathers, who committed their entire lives to prayer, faced interior distractions from prayer. But they found a solution—short, frequent prayers—or “javelin prayers” as they called them.

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata

People—especially busy people—forget we can ask God for help with everything. No matter how busy we are, all of us are able to make frequent short prayers throughout the day. “Lord, help me with this situation at work. Lord, help me prepare the meal, etc.” Proud human beings don’t ask for help, but humble human beings live from one petition to the next. If we season the day with little short prayers, that’s a way to always have, or to develop, a life of prayer.

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata

When people hear the word prayer, they think about the various prayers that we say—the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Anima Christi. That’s one sense of the word prayer. We’re called to not only say acts of prayer, but to live the life of prayer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives this definition: the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice holy God and in communion with him. Fr. James Brent, O.P., begins to unpack what the life of prayer looks like in this episode.

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata

The purpose of our lives is to enter into the life of the Holy Trinity, and come to know something of the holy, awesome, and awe-inspiring life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The question is, “How?” The Lord Jesus tells us the answer very clearly. In the Gospel of Mark, the first thing the Lord says is this: “the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” The Greek word for repent is metanoiete and it comes from metanoia. Metanoia means the transformation of the mind. Learn more about the pathways of metanoia in this episode of Contemplata.

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata

The purpose of our life is to know, love, and enjoy God. More specifically, the purpose of our life is to know, love, and enjoy the Holy Trinity. In this episode, Fr. James Brent, O.P., meditates on the sign of the cross, a simple gesture that contains two great truths of our faith – that the purpose of our life is to participate in the life of the Trinity and the way is to follow Jesus Christ and him crucified. 

Follow us on:

Instagram: ​​​​@contemplatapodcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DominicanFriarsMedia

Support: If you want to support this podcast, please visit dominicanfriars.org/contemplata